


Drowning in a Sea of Madness

by Crystallized_Shadow



Category: Naruto
Genre: Biting, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Hashirama tries to help, M/M, Madara's a jinchuriki, Tobirama tries to help, but to the wrong demon, founder's era, he has better luck, he pretty much fails though, he struggles to cling to what little sanity he has, probably more tags to come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-01-12 13:59:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18448007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystallized_Shadow/pseuds/Crystallized_Shadow
Summary: Forced to become a jinchuriki against his will, Madara is the only one keeping Konoha safe from certain destruction. But can anyone save him?





	1. Mission Failure

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the result of my brain going "What if Madara was Kurama's jinchuriki instead of Mito?" I posted a few teasers of this on tumblr, and likely will again in the future; if anyone is interested my username is the same. No update schedule as of now and this is completely un-beta'd.

“Quickly! He’s waking up!”

Madara struggles to push the fog out of his brain, wondering why he didn’t recognize the voice that had just shouted. The last thing he remembered was the mission, but then something had went wrong...an ambush! He was ambushed! The throbbing in his neck reminds him of the pinprick of a sebon right before he’d lost consciousness. Poison then, Madara thinks with a frown, that could be problematic in his escape.

“Get him in the array!” A gruff voice shouts and Madara is being dragged into the middle of a giant seal array. He attempts to struggle as his shirt is ripped open, but the poison makes his struggles about as effective as a kitten batting at a feather. The Uchiha is powerless to stop the bastards from inking more seals onto his torso.

“Thank you in advance for wiping out that pesky village of yours,” the leader says, laughing at the glare Madara sends his way. The group push their chakra into the seal array and everything glows brightly.

Madara grunts in pain as the seals on him burn and shift to center around his naval. Just as they settle the burning increases a hundredfold as waves of rage, hatred, bloodlust, and the desire to destroy wash over him. Madara screams as he struggles to stay afloat in the raging inferno of negative emotions, his Mangekyo Sharingan spinning to life to fight off the unseen foe. Ever single nerve cries out in agony, but just when Madara is sure he’s going to combust from the inside out, the dark inferno is gone and he’s left panting, unsure to how function for a moment.

“It worked!” The joyous exclamations of his captors has that rage sparking back to life, and with barely a thought, the bastards are burning thanks to his Amaterasu. Even when nothing but ash remains and he’s vanquished the flames, Madara just lays there, everything hurting.

_ Home _ rings through Madara’s head and in his exhausted haze he swears it wasn’t his own voice. Even with the insistent urge to return to his village, it takes an agonizingly long time for Madara to force any of his limbs to move. The effort to get his feet under him leaves the Uchiha panting and hunched over, so he uses that moment to memorize the seals, just knowing it will be important when he can think clearly. A simple Katon destroys the array and then Madara is straightening his shirt and stumbling back to Konoha. Home, he needed to go home, but why? Why was it so important he make it back to the village?

The closer Madara gets to the village the stronger the urge to destroy everything and everyone gets. That terrifying thought has Madara vearing sharply to the right, he needed to get away before he did something he’d regret. He doesn’t make it very far before Tobirama is suddenly before him.

_Kill him! He almost killed your brother,_ ** _destroy_** **_him!_**

“Get away from me!” Madara snaps, clutching at his hair as the voice growls in his head. Now he knew it couldn’t be his own thoughts, he hadn’t want to hurt Tobirama since the two had fallen into bed together for the first time.

“Madara?” Tobirama mutters, one eyebrow raised as he really looks at the Uchiha. “Are you okay? You were running late and when I sensed you running from the village, I knew something must be wrong.”

“Go away Tobirama!” Madara growls, the sound the most feral one he’s ever made and that scares him more than nearly losing Izuna. What is happening to him?

“I’m not leaving you,” Tobirama states with a frown, realizing something is very wrong with the Uchiha, “Anija will be here soon too.”

“No!!” Madara’s grip on his hair tightens as he stumbles back a step, “stay away from me!”

Tobirama’s frown deepens as he takes a step forward, only to stop when Madara’s panicked eyes meet his. “Madara…”

“Please!” Madara begs, his tone wavering in a way it hasn’t since he helped bury his last brother, “I don’t want to hurt you.” 

Stunned by the other’s words, Tobirama almost doesn’t act when Madara bolts in the opposite direction. Reaching for his closest marker in front of Madara, Tobirama appears before the Uchiha, wrapping his arms around the terrified man as he collides with him. “Let me help you Madara,” Tobirama mutters, refusing to let the other leave.

Against his will Madara relaxes in Tobirama’s hold and that proves to be his downfall as the bloodlust and rage and hate overwhelm him in that second. With a smirk, Madara sinks elongated fangs into Tobirama’s unprotected throat, tearing a chunk of flesh away when the Senju jumps back.

“You should have **listened**.”

“What has gotten into you!?” Tobirama snaps, narrowing his eyes as he places a hand over the wound, stopping the bleeding with his limited medical ninjutsu, “I’m trying to help you and you fucking bite me!?”

**“I’ll go for your jugular next time,”** the voice that comes from Madara isn’t his own but he can’t do anything to stop himself as he spits the flesh to the ground, grinning viciously at Tobirama. In a burst of speed, Madara is before Tobirama again, claws swiping at his face.

Tobirama narrowly avoids the attack, spotting a flash of red as he gets some distance between them. His eyes are drawn to his own blood staining Madara’s lips before he glances up into red eyes. Tobirama’s first instinct to break eye contact least the Sharingan get him, it’s only the lack of spinning tomoe that stops him in his tracks. Madara’s eyes are red with a slitted pupil and his voice has new touch of evil the Uchiha had never managed before. “Madara,” Tobirama begins cautiously, still watching for another attack, “was something sealed in you?”

**“You’re clever,”** Madara chuckles, the dark sound grating on his nerves like nails across a chalkboard,  **“now you really do have to die.”**

Tobirama can sense Hashirama getting closer so he just has to hold Madara off until then. Dodging another swipe of claws, Tobirama flashes through a set of hand signs. “Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!” 

Madara easily avoids the giant water dragon, landing on a tree branch, crouched lower than normal.  **“You’re stronger than I was expecting,”** Madara admits, but instead of feeling pride at the compliment, Tobirama feels dread settle in the pit of his stomach.  **“Time to get serious.”** A pained snarl is forced through Madara’s clenched teeth as bubbling red chakra spreads over his body. The chakra cloak forms the outline of fox-like ears on top of Madara’s head, claws over his hands and feet, and a long fox-like tail forms behind him.

“Fuck,” Tobirama mutters, his knees quivering ever so slightly under the sudden onslaught of demonic chakra. He didn’t know how he hadn’t sensed it before, but now it was obvious Madara had a demon sealed in him. Tobirama sends another water dragon at Madara, steam obsurring both men’s view as the chakra tail burns through the water. Tobirama is briefly reminded of the battle that had almost taken Izuna’s life before claws are ripping through his side. “Bastard!” Tobirama growls, jumping away from the demon-controlled shinobi, just missing the chakra tail by a hair.

**“Feisty little rat,”** Madara chuckles, licking the blood off his fingers,  **“don’t die too quickly, I want to enjoy myself.”** The demonic Uchiha makes a single hand sign before he suddenly exhales a large stream of fire, setting everything on fire.

“Fucking pyromaniac,” Tobirama grumbles, a quick Water Wall not only saving him but dousing the flames. Unfortunately the steam that is created just serves to put him at a disadvantage as the demon’s chakra is so chaotic and all consuming that Tobirama can’t pinpoint its exact location. Drawing a kunai, bracing himself for another attack, the Senju finds himself praying his Madara is still in there somewhere. Seconds later Madara is before him, claws clashing with the kunai. “Suiton: Severing Wave!” Tobirama shoots a high pressured jet of water at Madara, sending the possessed man sailing through several trees.

**“That almost hurt,”** Madara chuckles as he saunters back into the clearing, his shirt having been destroyed during his flight, and Tobirama’s eyes are instantly drawn to the seal on his stomach. He can’t help but wince at the shoddy work, that didn’t bode well for Madara.  **“Let’s see how much you can handle.”**

A second tail forms behind Madara and Tobirama nearly chokes as the oppressive chakra doubles in force and darkness. This wasn’t looking good for him, not with his side still gushing blood. Madara is suddenly before him, a fist colliding with his stomach and sending him crashing into a tree. Before Tobirama even has his feet under him, a hasty hand sign has him flashing to a marker closest to Hashirama. Shakily getting to his feet, the Senju runs in the direction of his brother. As much as it wounded his pride to admit it, even in his head, Tobirama knew he was no match for Madara.

Tobirama pushes his battered body to move faster, he can sense the demonic chakra headed his way. A little more, he thinks, Hashirama is so close! Just before Tobirama gets close enough to get his brother’s attention, he suddenly finds himself facedown on the ground, grunting on impact.  **“Caught you!”** The dark voice growls in his ear and then Tobirama screams as his world explodes in pain.


	2. Senju vs Uchiha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this took so long! Between school, work, being sick, and completely rewriting half this chapter it took longer than I thought it would.
> 
> That being said, enjoy Hashirama vs Madara!

Hashirama nearly misses the branch he’s leaping for when Tobirama’s scream echoes through the forest; he couldn’t think of a time he’d ever heard that sound from his younger brother. The Hokage didn’t even know what was going on, he’d gotten only a vague direction to head in before Tobirama had bolted to save Madara, leaving him behind like an idiot. The only thing Hashirama knew was Tobirama had sensed pain in Madara’s chakra but he was running away from the village, which didn’t make sense; if the Uchiha was hurt he shouldn’t be avoiding the one place he could get treatment. Hashirama prayed he would make it in time to save his last brother and his best friend, because he knew someone must have ambushed them, someone ungodly strong to overpower them both. 

Nothing in his life could have prepared Hashirama for the horror of finding his best friend crouched over Tobirama’s still body, unhealthy amounts of blood staining the ground redder than the cruel eyes Madara fixes on him. “Get away from him!!” Hashirama roars, the trees springing to life around him and ripping the Uchiha away from Tobirama. “Tobi!!” He is by his brother’s side in an instant, eyes drawn to the two bloody holes through Tobirama’s back, one through his right lung and the other partially puncturing his stomach.

**“Didn’t want him to die too quickly,”** Madara chuckles, but Hashirama doesn’t even spare him a second glance as he focuses on healing the gaping holes in Tobirama. Hashirama barely notices when the Uchiha tears free of the tree roots holding him. **“Forget about him, he’s as good as dead; come dance with me.”**

“I’m going to kill you,” Hashirama mutters, his tone dark even as he forces his chakra to remain calm so he doesn’t worsen Tobirama’s condition. “How could you do this Madara!? Tobirama loves you!!”

**“He’s a fool.”** Madara lunges at Hashirama, claws aimed at his back, only to collide with a wooden dome. **“Stop hiding!”**

Hashirama ignores his former best friend as he focuses solely on healing Tobirama. He knew he needed to push past the betrayal he was feeling, Tobirama needed his attention right now, not Madara. Thankfully the wounds, while fatal, aren’t as difficult to heal as he feared they’d be. Despite everything, Hashirama doesn’t want to kill Madara if he can help it, but he couldn’t see any other choice, not when the Uchiha had done the unforgivable and tried to murder his last brother.

The banging and angry snarls finally reach Hashirama’s ears, but he tunes them out; Madara could wait.   **“Get out here you fucking coward before I go after your precious village!!”** That makes the Hokage stiffen in anger, how dare Madara threaten everything they had worked for! He ignores the trees whispered warnings as he parts his jutsu just enough to step out. Sealing the dome behind him, Hashirama faces Madara with a heavy heart. He may not want to hurt the Uchiha, but Tobirama badly needed a hospital and he came first.

**“Finally decided to fight?”** Madara growls, three tails lashing behind him.

“This isn’t a fight,” Hashirama states, his eyes colder than his words, “this is an execution.”

**“I’d like to see you try,”** Madara chuckles, claws swiping at Hashirama’s face an instant later.

The Hokage seems startled by the drastic change in Madara’s fighting style, but barely a thought has tree roots swatting the Uchiha across the clearing. “What’s gotten into you Madara?” Hashirama demands as he advances toward his old friend, “you’re not usually this uncontrolled.” His words are met with another a snarl and he jumps back to avoid another swing.

**“Fight dammit!”** Madara all but roars, his tail catching Hashirama around the ankle and flinging him through a few trees.

Hashirama slowly stands up, wincing at the burn where the chakra had touched him. Madara’s chakra had never had that effect on him before. That thought makes Hashirama pause and really look at the Uchiha. He takes in the volatile chakra surging around Madara, the slitted pupil where tomoe should be, the slashes that almost resemble whisker marks, and the fangs the force Madara’s mouth into a permanent snarl. Suddenly all the whispers of _demon_ and _evil_ from the trees make sense. “You’re not Madara,” the Senju states, his tone accusatory as his eyes drop to the glowing seal on Madara’s stomach. He might not be a seal master like his brother or his wife, but even Hashirama knew that seal work was barely passable at best. “Who are you?”

**“How clever,”** the demon chuckles, his smirk a darker, more feral, version of Madara’s own, **“and I thought the rabbit was the smart one.”**

“Who are you?” Hashirama repeats, calmly making a hand sign that sends wooden columns twining around all the demon’s limbs.

**“Madara Uchiha.”**

“Wrong,” Hashirama mutters with a smile, another hand sign driving a branch into the demon’s side. “Who are you?” When the demon fails to respond, the Senju wills the branch to burrow deeper until it coils loosely around the demon’s spine. “Last chance before I rip your spine out.”

**“You wouldn’t dare hurt Madara.”** The sudden tightening around his spine has the demon reconsidering.

“You hurt my brother, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do to you.”

**“I am the great Kyuubi no Kitsune.”**

Hashirama wants to be impressed, really, he does, but he’d heard tales of Kyuubi’s monstrous strength; this short battle did not live up to it. “I expected more,” Hashirama admits as he releases the demon’s spine. Now that he knew it wasn’t Madara that had hurt his little brother he hardly wanted to rip the Uchiha’s spine out.

**“You dare mock me?!”** Kyuubi roars, a sudden wave of hatred nearly overwhelming Hashirama as a fourth tail appears and blasts away the restraining wood.

“That’s new,” Hashirama can’t help but chuckle as he hastily avoids the ball of pure demonic chakra. So maybe antagonizing the demon wasn’t his best idea, but he got the information he would need if saving Madara was possible once this was over. A quick wood dome protects him from the next chakra blast, but it cracks ever so slightly. Hashirama knew he needed to end this fight quickly if he wanted to save Tobirama and have any chance of helping Madara. As he drops the dome, Hashirama sends a wood clone one way while he darts the other way.

**“That trick won’t work,”** Kyuubi states, sending two tails at each Hashirama’s heart. The trees instantly protect the real Hashirama while the clone dissolves away. Kyuubi is on the real one instantly, tearing through branches and aiming for Hashirama’s jugular.

Hashirama ducks under the slash and thrusts a kunai into Kyuubi’s stomach, smirking a little when the demon jumps back with a short bark of pain. The smirk quickly morphs to a frown when the wound instantly heals. Despite all the blood on Madara’s body, the demon remains wound free.

“I really am going to have to kill you.” Hashirama states sadly; as mad as he was about Tobirama’s condition, Madara was still one of his precious people. The thought of putting him down like a rabid animal turned Hashirama’s stomach, but he would do it if that’s what it took to keep his last brother safe.

**“You’re the one that’s going to die,”** Kyuubi chuckles darkly as a fifth tail bursts into existence; the sudden, oppressive hatred making Hashirama stagger as it’s all focused on him. With surprising speed, Kyuubi lunges at the Senju, smirking when the other just barely dodges.

Hashirama barely has time to question the smirk before two chakra tails immobilize him. He’s not sure what hurts more, the burning pain when Kyuubi tightens his grip and breaks a rib, or the cruel glee reflected on the face of his best friend. Hashirama knew it wasn’t Madara in control, but to see such dark enjoyment on Madara’s face hurt his heart.

**“After you Senju are dead, I’m going to level your pathetic village.”** Kyuubi taunts as he sends the other three tails crashing through the dome protecting Tobirama.

“Leave my brother alone you monster!!” Hashirama snarls, struggling to get free so he could protect the only family he has left.

Kyuubi’s laughter is a terrifying thing, but all Hashirama can focus on is the sight of Tobirama hanging limply from the tail coiled around his neck, his pale skin made paler by blood loss. **“Where should I stab him first?”** Kyuubi murmurs, his two free tails caressing Tobirama’s body in a deceitfully gentle manner.

“Madara if you’re in there you need to fight!!” Hashirama yells, desperate to save his brother, “or I WILL kill you!!” The chakra binding him falters just enough that Hashirama can move his hands into a better position before Kyuubi regains total control and turns away from Tobirama to face Hashirama.

**“You don’t have it in you human,”** the demon declares with a smirk, **“you’d never hurt one of your precious people.”**

“You’re not one of my precious people.” Hashirama makes a single hand sign a split second before a root bursts through Kyuubi’s chest. Blood spews from the demon’s mouth as he just hangs there, demonic chakra slowly seeping away. Hashirama manages to break free and catch Tobirama, seconds before the younger Senju would have hit the ground.

“Hashi…” Madara mutters, struggling to speak as he chokes on his own blood, “...sorry…” When Hashirama turns to face him, Madara manages a small, bloody smile that will forever haunt the Senju.

“Oh Madara…” Tears fall from Hashirama’s eyes at the sound of Madara’s voice, torn between the joy he feels of having his friend back and the heartbreak of knowing he’d just killed him with the demon. “I hope you’ll be able to forgive me one day.” Knowing that the demon can heal, Hashirama steels his heart once more as the Uchiha slides off the root and drops face first to the ground. He binds the demon in the thickest, most chakra absorbing roots he can make and seals him in a dome of sturdy beams. “Sleep for now demon, I’ll deal with you later.” Leaving Madara’s body safely entombed in his Mokuton, Hashirama returns to Konoha, praying Tobirama will make it.

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone is interested, I posted a rough sketch of Madara using Kurama's chakra. [It can be found here!](https://crystallized-shadow.tumblr.com/post/184243996906/madara-in-drowning-in-a-sea-of-madness-when-kurama)


End file.
